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ment for participa-
tion
in NZW events, and
accredita-
tion to the Sustainable
Winegrowing New Zealand program.
The Vineyard Register will be updated
annually. Although existing data for
many vineyards was held on record by
NZW, the decision was made to require
verification of the data by all vineyard
owners, rather than roll existing data into
the Vineyard Register. Consequently, the
summaries presented in this report rep-
resent the most accurate information on
New Zealand vineyards to have been re-
ported in the last decade. All data was
entered directly into the Register online
by vineyard owners and New Zealand
Winegrowers staff. The Register in-
cludes 1841 vineyards with a combined
producing area in 2012 of 34,269 ha,
as at 15 October 2012. New Zealand
Winegrowers are continuing to collect
data from a number of small vineyards
that it is estimated will represent a further
150 to 300 ha, these have not been
included in the summaries.
The Vineyard Register that records a
producing area for 2012 of 34,269 ha.
This is an increase of 669 ha over the
2009
estimate. It is likely that most
of this increase is related
to underestimates within
the 2009 survey rather than
increased plantings in the in-
tervening years. The producing
area is anticipated to increase
only 683 ha between 2012 and
2015, with relatively small increases
across all regions. With the industry
showing signs of rebalancing supply and
demand, anecdotally it is believed that
new plantings are being planned. This
is not reflected in the Vineyard Register.
NZW will undertake a survey of nursery
production in February 2013, which
may provide more information regard-
ing new plantings anticipated in winter
2013. Marlborough continues to be the
dominant producing region compris-
ing 66% of the total national vineyard.
Hawkes Bay remains our second largest
producing region, but for the first time
Otago edges ahead of Gisborne, as
the third largest producing region by
area. Notably the producing area in
Waipara is significantly smaller (388ha)
than estimated in 2009, this is due to an
unquantifiable error in the data for 2008
and 2009. The significant plantings in
Marlborough are reflected in the varietal
mix with Sauvignon Blanc comprising
58% of the national vineyard. Pinot Noir
is firmly established as our second most
planted variety at 15%. Despite a small
decrease in Chardonnay plantings
it remains the third most
planted
variety at 9% with Pinot Gris being
the fourth at 7%.
Regions
NORTHLAND
The first vines in New Zealand
were planted in the Bay of
Islands by the missionary, Rev-
erend Samuel Marsden in
1819. In the late 1800’s,
the Croatian gumdiggers
arrived in Northland,
bringing their Euro-
pean tradition of
winemaking. This
has been the
foundation of the
New Zealand
wine industry,
with many of
today’s suc-
cessful wine
companies
able to
trace their
lineage
back to
North-
land.
Its north-
ern
location
and